Language and Linguistics

Core modules

Language and Linguistics seminar

Linguistics is a broad discipline that encompasses a wide range of approaches to the study of how language works, how it is used, and what it means. This module aims to introduce students to the breadth of linguistic study as conducted by the scholars who will teach them on their degree programme. The module further aims to help students to become independent and critical learners able to discuss areas of linguistic research with confidence in both written and spoken modes.

15 credits

Research Methods

This module provides students with the essential practical foundations for independent postgraduate research in areas of language and linguistic and applied linguistic study. Students will be given the opportunity to explore a range of research practices. Examples of good practice in linguistic research will be examined in a range of contexts. Students will be encouraged to reflect critically on their own research practices and on the practices of others.

15 credits

Research Dissertation Practice

This module will provide support for students embarking on their dissertations. Its aims are to support each aspect of the dissertation process, provide students with opportunities to discuss their research in progress with their peers and academic staff, enable students to understand what comprises excellent research in linguistics, scaffold the process of conducting a research dissertation, and to ensure that students are aware of the need to conduct ethical research projects.

15 credits

Dissertation

This module enables students to pursue an extended independent research project in an area of language and linguistic research, broadly defined. With the guidance of an academic supervisor, and the module convenor if appropriate, students will formulate an appropriate research question based on the 1000-word research proposal submitted as part of their assessment for the  Research Dissertation Practice module. Students will then work with their supervisor who will help them establish a workable research schedule and provide advice and feedback in up to four one-to-one meetings. The project will be written up as a 12,000-15,000-word dissertation during the summer months.

60 credits

Optional modules

Introduction to Linguistic Theory

This module aims to develop a secure foundation in linguistic concepts and techniques, and trains students in how to apply them to language problems. The course examines how language is structured and processed, building upon preliminary training in some or all of the core modules of language at undergraduate level: sounds (phonetics, phonology), word structure (morphology), sentence structure (syntax), and meaning (semantics, pragmatics). The module will train students to describe and rigorously analyse language data (English and others) within theoretical frameworks. Students will be instructed in (1) foundational theories and concepts in linguistic theory, (2) the cross-linguistic evidence that motivates these approaches, (3) the analytical techniques required to apply these theories to language data, and (4) the relevance of linguistic theories for the wider study of language.

15 credits

Topics in Linguistic Theory

This module explores how language is structured, by exploring central topics in linguistic theory, which may include Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, Language Acquisition (L1/L2), Psycholinguistics, and related disciplines. Students will build upon the concepts and techniques investigated in previous training in these areas, and will have the opportunity to examine (1) theories and concepts in linguistic theory, (2) the linguistic evidence from a wide array of languages that informs these approaches, (3) the analytical techniques required to apply these theories to cross-linguistic language data, and (4) the relevance of such theoretical models for the wider study of language. The module will develop students' abilities to use analytical tools in linguistic theory, rigorously interpret language data within theoretical frameworks, and evaluate these frameworks.

15 credits

Language and interaction

The natural home of spoken language is everyday interaction. In this module, students will engage with contemporary frameworks and techniques for analysing spoken interaction, including everyday conversation. Students will: (i) learn about the principles which underpin those analytic frameworks, (ii) explore some of the findings which have arisen from the application of those analytic frameworks, and (iii) gain first-hand experience of working within those analytic frameworks in the analysis of recordings and transcriptions of everyday interactions. Data will be provided for students to analyse, though there may be the opportunity for students to work with their own data where appropriate.

15 credits

Language and public life

Language mediates all aspects of our lives. It helps shape our social identity, relations with others, and the institutions we engage with. It can be an instrument of power and of community. This module will introduce students to current research which explores how language mediates public life and is an object of discussion within it. Students will be introduced to a range of analytical frameworks for exploring the role of language as an instrument of social power, identity, and control. The module will explore these questions by critically analysing how language is used in a range of social settings within public life and will also draw on current techniques for investigating how language is debated, discussed, and monitored in public life. It will do so by looking at a range of social settings in which language is used and discussed (education, the media, politics and policy). Students will: (i) learn about the principles which underpin the analytical frameworks used, (ii) discuss the findings and implications of research which has used those frameworks, (iii) gain hands-on experience of working with some of those frameworks, by working with samples of data gathered from contemporary social contexts. Data will be provided for students to analyse, though there may be the opportunity for students to work with their own data where appropriate.

15 credits

Historical Linguistics: Texts and Theories

The primary aim of this module is to bring primary data in historical linguistics (texts) into direct contact with theories of their interpretation in the context of seminar-style discussion in class. You will encounter historical texts (in transcript and facsimile) and gain skills in interpreting them in ways that speak to questions both specific and more general to the field of historical linguistics. Topics may include aspects of manuscript production and reception (for example, punctuation), language contact, morpho-syntax, sound change, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics.

15 credits

Style in Literature and Discourse - Tools and Techniques

This module explores various approaches to the investigation of style, making reference both to literary texts and to other kinds of discourse. It introduces a range of tools that we can use to analyse style in a detailed and systematic way. These include techniques for the investigation of grammar, linguistic patterning, point of view, speech and thought representation, modality, and metaphor. In this sense, the module provides a foundational account of stylistic analysis suitable for those who have not experienced it before. However, the module extends its exploration of stylistics further than is usual in undergraduate modules, engaging with the theory that lies behind the practical tools that we are covering as well as extending, problematizing, and complicating our view of what the term 'style' actually means. In this sense, the module will also be suitable for students who have some experience of studying stylistics at undergraduate level and who now wish to develop their knowledge of the field. By the end of the module, students should be able to produce sophisticated stylistic analyses of particular pieces of text and discourse while also showing a critical awareness of the intellectual context of their work and the theoretical ideas underpinning it.

30 credits

Style in Literature and Discourse - Approaches to Research

This module considers what is involved in developing a research project in the field of stylistics. Rather than concentrating on the specific analytical tools that are typically used to explore the style of texts and discourse, it focuses on the larger questions that researchers ask about matters of style and the methods that they use to answer those questions. The module will include discussion of research in areas such as Corpus Stylistics, Cognitive Stylistics, Historical Stylistics, Multimodal Stylistics, Eco-Stylistics and the Stylistics of Drama. In each case we shall look at examples of research in the area, consider what kinds of research questions shape it, examine the methods devised to answer those questions, and explore the ways in which new research establishes its relationship with what is happening more broadly in the field. The module will offer a thorough account of both the practice and theory of stylistic research, the assessment requiring that students develop plans for research projects in two different areas of the field and carry out a small-scale pilot study for each.

30 credits

Advances in TESOL

This module will familiarise students with cutting-edge research in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). In particular, aligning with the research interests and publications of the module convenors, it will focus on current research on vocabulary studies, English for specific purposes, and academic writing and academic literacy.

15 credits

Current Issues in Applied Linguistics

Current Issues in Applied Linguistics' offers students an opportunity to reflect upon, and debate, contemporary questions related to language research and language education.

The module is designed to stimulate critical thought, ask questions, advance opinions, and generally scratch our heads over some of the knottier problems in language and social life. The aim will be to explore critical current issues and social problems through the lens of language. The module seeks to introduce students to the diversity of research in Applied Linguistics, while representing the expertise of the scholars who will teach them on their degree programme. Topics will vary from year to year, covering diverse fields like language awareness, language acquisition, critical linguistics, language norms, 'correctness' and normativity, interculturality, linguistic imperialism and the global business of TESOL.

15 credits

Materials and Course Design

This module will familiarise you with the theory and practice of TESOL course design and language teaching We will look at different scholarly approaches to the design of language teaching curricula, materials, and tests, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches, and their usefulness in various TESOL situations in diverse secondary and tertiary education contexts. The module will include practice in designing language courses and language teaching materials. The module therefore will provide you with an essential theoretical and practical foundation to design TESOL language courses and teaching materials, and to critically assess existing examples of each and their appropriateness in various learning contexts.

15 credits

Literature and Language in the Workplace

This, the core module for the MA in English Studies, will combine an introduction to electronic, microfilm, and paper tools with an in-depth exposure to the way in which close reading can be aided by consideration of reception history, literary theory, historical backgrounds, and stage history. Students will learn by way of and demonstrate skills in online discussions. Students who complete this module will have developed skills that are transferable to various employment situations, especially publishing. The module will be very useful for and interesting to secondary and post-16 English teachers, particularly those whose degrees are not recent.

15 credits

Work Placement with Research Project

This module provides students with the experience of working with an external organisation (for example, a library, gallery, theatre, school) and undertaking a short research project related to that organisation. Students will choose a placement from those offered at the start of the academic year and will work on a defined project agreed between the academic co-ordinator and the partner institution. Alongside this project, students will undertake a programme of related reading and research directed by the academic co-ordinator. The module has three aims: (1) to enable students to develop their discipline-specific vocational skills (2) to enable students to gain practical research skills through undertaking research related to their project (3) to promote reflection on the relationship between academic research and external organisations.

30 credits